Through Younger Eyes
by Faile
Summary: A prequel to my story Hero. What makes that little girl decide that Cyclops was her hero? Much better than Hero. All told in Anna's view


Through Younger Eyes

By Faile

Disclamier:I don't own the X-Men and am using them without permission.Anna and her mother are mine.If you really want to use them, please ask first.I'll probably say yes.Oh, and I am making no money off this story, it is purely for entertainment purposes.

Authors Note:This is a prequel to Hero, which can be found at Ro's Treasury

[http://www.roaj.net/treasury/faile/hero.html][1]

and at The Itty Bitty Cyke archive

[http://hivemind.hispeed.com/ittybit.htm][2]

or contact me and I'll send it to you.

You don't really need to read Hero to understand this story, but you might want to.

Many thanks to Skyflare, Galaxia Alpha, and AnnabelLee for beta reading for me.I love you guys!!!

I guess this might be considered a TCP, but I'm not really sure.

Feedback:Please!I love outside input!All Feedback can be sent to [Faile02@yahoo.com][3] or [Faile02@netzero.net][4]

Archive:If I have already given permission for Hero, go ahead.But otherwise, please ask first.It's not likely I'll say no! J

Thanks and Enjoy!

Through Younger Eyes

"Wait Mom!Let me get that!"Anna called, racing up to her mother and opening the door for her.Mrs. Larken smiled at her youngest daughter.Shaking her head she hobbled into the doctor's office.Anna followed, skipping, allowing the large glass door to swing shut behind her.

Mrs. Larken took a seat in the waiting room and placed her crutches next to her.She sighed, looking at her left leg, at the brightly colored cast.Anna had grown bored one day and had decorated the white canvas.

"Mom?" Anna asked, looking worried, "Are you alright?Do you need something?"

Her mother chuckled, shaking her head."No dear, I'm fine.Just tired."

Anna looked for a moment longer, then turned away in satisfaction.Now, it was her turn to sigh._This has got to be **the **most boring doctor's office I've ever been too!_She went over to the table and started to sift through the many different magazines.Finally, she found a US News she hadn't read yet.As she moved back over to her mother she saw an old lady look at her in surprise._That's right lady!I'm 10 and I'm reading US News.What's it to ya?_Of course, she didn't say that out loud, that would have been rude.Heh, Mom would not have liked that!Anna ignored the woman, focusing on the magazine.

There was silence for a while; the only sound the turning of pages and the buzzing of a TV on in the corner.Anna, reading an article, didn't pay much attention to the start of a conversation between the old woman and a younger one.

"Oh…those damned mutants!Look at what they did!" the older woman exclaimed.

The younger woman's head shook despairingly."Those poor people.Mutants really should be regulated.I mean, not just for our sake, but for theirs as well!Did you hear about that poor mutant that lit herself on fire?I'm beginning to agree with Graydon Creed."

Someone had made the television louder, the noise interrupting Anna's reading.She looked up, and focused on the TV."Last night, it appears that the mutant terrorist organization known as the X-Men, attacked a small gathering of people outside the town of Miller Place, NY."

Anna's eyebrow shot up._No!The X-Men wouldn't do that!They're good people! _Anna closed her eyes, studying the inside of her eyelids.She knew the X-Men were good; she even had the memory to prove it.Bad people, like terrorists, wouldn't have helped a scared little girl when she needed it... 

_Scrrrreeeeeccchhhh !Crash!The noise was so loud it hurt her ears.Quickly, she spun around, only to watch in horror as a car came speeding towards her.Eyes opened wide she couldn't move, couldn't breath, couldn't speak.She could only stand there as the car came racing towards her small human body._

_ _

_Suddenly, without warning, slender arms lifted her and threw her out of the way.The wind swept through her hair as she flew into a bush.Hitting it with her left side, she struggled up, ignoring the pain it caused her.She turned toward the spot she had just left, gaping in terror, seeing her mother laying on the road, her leg bent to a degree a human leg was never supposed to contort to.Her eye's filled with tears, and she made a move towards her mother._

_ _

_She stopped when a hand touched her shoulder.She looked up, her young eyes wide, into the emerald green gaze of a woman her mother's age.The woman knelt down, to a little girls level, and spoke to her, "I'm Phoenix.One of the X-Men.We're going to help your mother.What's your name?"_

_ _

_A tear dripped out of a leaky eye."Anna," the little girl replied in a whisper._

_ _

_Phoenix smiled at her, "Well Anna, don't worry on bit, because Cyclops over there," she pointed over the man in blue spandex who was busy helping Anna's mother, "is going to bring your mother to safety.Okay?"At Anna's nod, Phoenix looked the girl over with a critical eye."Now, your not hurt are you?It looks like your protecting your side."_

_ _

_Anna shook her head."N-No, I'm fine.Just a scrape." Anna sniffled, trying to stop the tears that threatened. _

_ _

_Phoenix smiled gently at the girl and gave her a hug."Don't worry, Anna, everything will be all right…"_

_And it was.Mom was fine, 'cepting that broken leg, but Cyclops even brought her to ambulance.It must be some mistake. It must!_And indeed, if you watched the footage, the people had guns and were shooting at them."Nobody was hurt", the newswoman said, "And last night, in Atlanta…"

Anna's eyes closed, she didn't believe, not at all.People didn't like the X-Men, that's why they said that._That's gotta be it!_She became dimly aware of the women talking again.

"My god!What animals!Attacking those poor people!I'm so glad my husband joined the FoH, I don't want those mutants living near me."

"My neighbor was one.My husband and the others ran him outta town.I didn't want him to, but then I thought, what if he hurt the children?I mean, he might not mean too, but he could have hurt my little boy.It's too bad, too, he was such a nice man."

"Mutants aren't nice, dear.They're disgusting, filthy, ani—"

"THEY ARE NOT!" Anna yelled, jumping up out of her seat."Mutants aren't animals, Lady!They're people just like us!"

The old woman looked shocked, staring at this little girl with disdain."Obviously, you've been taught all that "hippie" nonsense."She gave Mrs. Larken a look of utter scorn, one that Mrs. Larken ignored."One day child, when you get older, you'll see that that way of life is complete rubbish!Mutant's are dangerous, and one day you'll understand."

"No way, Lady!That's where you're wrong. Mutants aren't bad and they're not anymore dangerous then anybody else.If they were, my mother wouldn't be here today!She'd be dead.A mutant, an X-Man, saved her life."

Mrs. Larken reached over for her daughter, "Anna, come back here.Sit down and be quiet.I'm sorry, ladies, she reads too many editorials.Anna, come here!"

"No!"Anna pulled her arm free from her mother's grasp."The X-Men are good people, just like anybody else.Cyclops saved my mom's life!He's a hero.Someday, I'm even going to tell him so!When I get older, I hope I'm a mutant too!Just like him!"

Then, just as suddenly as she had started to talk, she stopped, sitting down.Her large eyes were dark, brows pulled over them.She watched the young woman, a woman not much younger than Anna's own mom.Anna stared into her eyes, trying to find something that showed she listened.For a moment, Anna saw nothing, but then, when she was about to lose hope, she saw a glint of shame, a glint in woman's eyes that gave Anna hope.A glint that was not shared by the old lady.

Anna sighed, opening her mouth to speak again.This time, though, her mother was watching, and forestalled her with a hand on her shoulder.She looked up into her mom's older, wiser eyes and knew that now was not the time to speak.For a minute, Anna felt older, like understood the world better.Anna knew that one day, when she grew up, she would have the chance to change things.

Anna settled back in her chair, reaching for her magazine again, when the door opened, and a bemused office secretary stepped out.

"Mrs. Larken?Dr. Reyes will see you now."

   [1]: http://www.roaj.net/treasury/faile/hero.html
   [2]: http://hivemind.hispeed.com/ittybit.htm
   [3]: mailto:Faile02@yahoo.com
   [4]: mailto:Faile02@netzero.net



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